The present invention is directed to a single use pad that can be used in an operating room environment to redistribute weight from areas of a patient that are typically at high risk of breakdown during surgical procedures. The pad will also serve as a means of posturing the patient during a surgical procedure.
The components of the pad are biodegradable and preferably incineratable without creating environmental problems, but meet the flamability standards for operating room equipment. In addition, the pad or mattress utilizes granular cellulose based filler material of generally uniform shape and size for assuming a shape to conform to the patient without packing together and of a size which does not significantly interfere with x-ray transmission. Means are provided in the pad cover for controlling the air pressure in the cells of the support surface for fluidizing the granular material to conform to the shape of the patient and to reduce the air pressure in the cells to provide a semi-rigid shaped support for the patient.
There are a multitude of mattresses and similar support devices for a human body in which the mattress contains a particulate material which under air pressure will conform with the configuration of the body being supported and which, when the air pressure is reduced, will more rigidly support the body. However, these devices generally included plastic components and were not suitable for use in surgical environments. First, patient support media in an operating room environment are subject to contamination, and should be not only biodegradable, but burnable without creating any environmental problems, and still meet the standards for flamability of operating room equipment. Secondly, the filler material used in the pad or mattress should be of a consistency that is substantially radio-translucent, and thereby provides minimal interference with x-ray imaging. In this regard, many plastic materials are not sufficiently x-ray transparent. In addition, the material should be a size to be as coarse as possible so that it will not pack and reduce its capacity to mold and provide pressure relief for the body, but must be easily fluidized with air so that it will produce a custom contoured surface for the person to lie after the excess air is removed from the pad.